Former Clemson Linebacker Projected to Play For LSU Next Season

A linebacker who spent a season with the Clemson Tigers will be seeing his former head coach as an opposing player.

Ole Miss linebacker TJ Dottery has entered the portal. He was a former Clemson Tiger, and he is expected to go to LSU. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers, much like every program, have seen players come and leave the program through the transfer portal. Now, they will see one of their former players in a Week 1 matchup. 

Former Clemson linebacker TJ Dottery will most likely be transferring from Ole Miss to LSU, reuniting with his former coach, Lane Kiffin. Dottery has a 100% prediction to the Bayou Bengals on his On3 profile. 

The potential move will have head coach Dabo Swinney now play two players that he had on his program in seasons past. Last week, defensive tackle Stephiylan Green announced his commitment to LSU, making the move from the ACC to the SEC. It makes the Week 1 matchup on Sept. 5 perhaps a little more personal for the program. 

It’s important to note that Dottery changed his last name when he was with the Rebels. At Clemson, he was known as T.J. Dudley, spending one season with the Tigers as a redshirt freshman in 2022. He recorded two tackles and saw time in the ACC Championship game in 2022 and the Orange Bowl. 

In the summer of 2023, Dottery was dismissed from the program for an undisclosed violation of team rules, making the transfer to Ole Miss during that year. He wasn’t able to play in the 2023 season with the Rebels, making his mark over the past two seasons as a linebacker. 

He finished with 174 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles over his two seasons under Kiffin and now-head coach Pete Golding. Now, he will follow Kiffin to LSU in what will be a high-stakes matchup with Clemson in September to begin 2026. 

The two Tiger teams will be meeting again in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the second match of the home-and-home series that began last season. LSU came out on top, 17-10, in the top 10 matchup and will now look for a sweep, welcoming Swinney’s team to Tiger Stadium to begin both respective seasons. 

Dottery entered the transfer portal on Jan. 15, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. 

Coming out of high school, the Montgomery, Alabama, native was a four-star recruit, according to 247Sports Composite. He was the No. 22 linebacker in the class and chose the Tigers over Oregon and Texas in the Class of 2022. 

For Swinney and his team, the stakes are even higher, with several players having close ties to former players that are now on LSU. Add in Kiffin’s hiring and the pickup of No. 1 player Sam Leavitt at quarterback, the game will be one of the most exciting contests to begin the 2026 college football season.